By Lookout Staff

May 17, 2012 -- The 21st Annual Santa Monica's Festival Saturday at Clover Park is so food-oriented, it easily could have been called a Taste of Santa Monica.

City Officials tout the festival as "a unique event that highlights the dynamic connection between the City's communities, businesses, arts and environment while offering ideas and solutions for a greener, healthier and more sustainable lifestyle."

And while this may be true of this year's event, Saturday's festival will feature celebrity chefs, a Food Salon with cooking demonstrations for adults and kids, local food trucks and fresh produce from the Santa Monica Farmers Market.

A farmers market "Chef Challenge" will pit Nyesha Arrington of TV's Top Chef and Wilshire Restaurant and John-Carlos Kuramoto of Michael's Restaurant. The two contenders will have 15 minutes to create a dish using ingredients found at the Santa Monica Farmer's Market. 

"The dish must be easy, fast and affordable," festival organizers said. Judges will be Sophie Gayot of Gayot.com, Margo True of Sunset Magazine, and Josephine Miller of the City of Santa Monica's Office of Sustainability And The Environment.
 
The Food Salon will also feature cooking demos from local chefs, including Border Grill's executive chef Alex Moreno,  who will show how to prepare Avocado Tacos and Potato Rajas Tacos, and "The Art of Food" blogger and chef Marina Ivlev, who will be teaching how to make healthy salads and wraps.

Karl Bruskotter of The City of Santa Monica's Office of Sustainability will discuss the City's partnership with the "Meatless Monday" campaign, and Farmers Market Coordinator Darra Henigan will talk about "eating locally and seasonally and how to look for the best produce at the market," organizers said.

The Jamie Oliver Food Revolution Los Angeles Ambassadors will host the Kids' Kitchen that will offer kids simple cooking tips and testing of kitchen gadgets. "There will be all sorts of fun recipes, nutrition games, and kitchen tips and tricks for the kids," organizers said.

But it will not be all food. Saturday's event also offers "an eclectic mix" of live music and dance, DIY art workshops "with recycled and repurposed materials" and "guilt-free shopping featuring earth-friendly artistic wares," organizers said.

As always, the festival will serve up information about local resources offered by a variety of City, environmental and local non-profit organizations. Santa Monica Festival is a free community event. For more information and a complete list of events visit www.smgov.net/festival.